This Is What Class War Looks Like

If you look up the definition of 'war' in the Oxford English Dictionary you will learn that it is "a state of armed conflict between different countries or different groups within a country." The famous military theoretician Carl Von Clausewitz notoriously described war as "the continuation of politics by other means." I have no doubt that at the forefront of Clausewitz’s mind was the form of war defined above by Oxford when he pronounced his aphorism, however I believe that his view of war can be just as perfectly applied to a form that does not include armed conflict, but instead relies on acts of economic aggression to achieve its aims. The war that I am speaking of is of course class war, and it is occurring all around us.

The Capitalist Way: Work Longer For Less

When I’m old and grey at 68, and my weary body can’t take any more of the working life, I will look back and curse the current Fine Gael / Labour government for having the shameless audacity to put me to work for three extra years before retirement.  The Social Welfare and Pensions Bill, 2011, was passed through the Dail on June 8^th by a massive 107  to 25 votes, in an instant doing away with years of hard fought struggle by the labour movement.  This bill will have huge repercussions for all workers, yet it hardly raised a whimper in the mainstream media.

The Irish Dream. Time To Wake Up!

I was pondering recently just why it is that us on the left seem to be consistently correct in our economic and social analysis, yet many in the mainstream consider us to be uninformed loonies or economically illiterate. It was then I remembered a video I had seen of the late and great George Carlin entitled “The American Dream” "Video Clip" and I realised that Irish Society is living in a collective dreamworld, and needs to wake up fast.

The Domino Effect: The Revolution Spreads

In the future when history is being written, the year 2011 will be known as 'the year of the revolutions'. Since the turn of the year we have seen a wave of popular uprisings across the globe. First was Tunisia, where the dictator Ben Ali was overthrown.  Next came Egypt, where Mubarak was forced from power and arrested, before the domino effect took hold and the scent of revolution spread across the middle eastern region. At the moment, uprisings are continuing in Lybia and Syria, although the former has been hijacked by the powers of western imperialism. The African and Middle East uprisings and revolutions would, many thought, be contained to the region. The past week's events in Spain have cast doubts on whether the contagious and infectious idea of revolution can be contained.

Stand Up, Get Up: A Song Of Revolution

This is a song I wrote and recorded last year. I hope you enjoy it. If you do, share the link on !!

http://soundcloud.com/derek-mckenna37473/stand-up-get-up

Default Now And Throw Off Our Chains

The recent Morgan Kelly article in the Irish Times, “Ireland's future depends on breaking free from bailout”[1]  has caused much debate in the Irish media.  In the article, UCD economist Kelly suggests that Ireland should walk away from the EU/IMF deal. In this regard Kelly is totally right, however the solution to the crisis that he proposes is wide of the mark.  More austerity is not the answer.  It is only through the promotion of economic growth through public investment and job creation, progressive taxation and nationalisation of our resources that Ireland will 'start' to emerge from the crisis.

A Critique of the IMF

Recent years have seen growing criticism of the International Monetary Fund. What are these criticisms and are they justified?

“It is important to note that IMF programmes are not designed to increase the welfare of the population. They are designed to bring the external payments account into balance.... The IMF is the ultimate guardian of the interests of capitalists and bankers doing international business” (Kari Polanyi Levitt, cited in Torrie, J. 1983, Introduction).